Description

Collards’ wide leaves have a cabbage-like flavor. They are, in fact, the oldest known greens in the cabbage family, with cultivation dating back to ancient Greece and Rome. It is seldom served raw and is usually cooked or boiled to achieve tenderness. Traditionally, collards are cooked with salt pork, either fried in a skillet or boiled. Garlic, onion, chili peppers, ginger or curry are good complementary spices.

Nutritional Information:

Care and Handling

Ideal Temperature: 33 F. Ethylene sensitive. Cracked ice around and in packages may help extend shelf life. Keep at proper humidity levels (90-95%) to prevent wilting. Mist.

Ratto Bros. follows and recommends the guidelines set forth by the Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) about commercial and home users washing all produce thoroughly under running water before eating, cutting, or cooking. For more information, visit the FDA’s website Consumers > Raw Produce: Selecting and Serving it Safely.

Did you know?

Collard greens, a popular item on many Thanksgiving tables, have a long history in African American families. "The collard greens were just one of a few select vegetables that African-Americans were allowed to grow and harvest for themselves and their families throughout times of enslavement, and so over the years cooked greens developed into a traditional food," according to the LATIBAH Collard Green Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Even after the Africans were emancipated in the late 1800s, their love of greens continued, and they kept handing down their well-developed repertoire of greens recipes from one generation to the next."

LZ Granderson wrote in a 2011 CNN.com column about the meaning behind Thanksgiving preparations, including greens: "We cooked food to show love. It takes a lot of effort to make a dish of potato salad large enough to feed all of the mouths that would come together. It takes a lot of patience to pick all of those greens from the stem.”

This stockpot was used to cook collard greens at the Florida Avenue Grill in Washington, D.C., one of the oldest African American owned soul food restaurants in the country.

Collection of Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture